Man Charged with Killing Father Accepts Plea Deal

Man Charged with Killing Father Accepts Plea Deal

A young Harford County man charged with killing his father has agreed to a plea deal, avoiding a life sentence.

Robert Richardson III, 18, agreed to a plea deal Wednesday, entering guilty pleas to manslaughter and a gun charge in the shooting death of his father.

He was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison with all but 18 years suspended. Upon his release, he will serve five years of supervised probation.

Richardson is accused of shooting his father at their home in Bel Air on Jan. 9, 2012. The body was found near a relative's home in Aberdeen, and Richardson led police on a chase through Bel Air before crashing the SUV he was driving.

Police said Richardson had confessed to the killing at the onset of the investigation and he was charged as an adult.

Prosecutors have not talked about a motive but Richardson claimed his father physically and verbally abused him. Family members have denied the abuse allegations.

In court on Wednesday, Richardson's attorneys said without this plea deal, they were prepared to defend Richardson based on the alleged abuse and that he killed his father on partial self-defense.

"This was a terrible tragedy that did not have to take place," said Diane Adkins Tobin, deputy state's attorney. "There are people who were aware of his situation but did nothing and did not notify authorities."

"In a perfect world, none of this would have happened. In a perfect world, Bob's father would still be alive and the family would have gotten the help that they needed. In a perfect world, Bob never ever would have been thrown into the adult court system because that's just wrong," said Eileen Siple, who supports Richardson.

Prosecutors said their investigation found some abuse and neglect in the Richardson household, but the top prosecutor said that is no excuse to kill your father.

Richardson's first-degree murder charge was reduced to manslaughter. Otherwise, he would have spent the rest of his life in prison.